Traditional Firebar or out dialed conferencing is used by 911 dispatch personnel to inform and bring a group of first responders into an emergency audio conference. These systems require dedicated phone lines that terminate on the line side of the central office switch of a phone company. This mode of operation is becomes less desirable as phone companies adopt Soft Switch and Digital Loop Carrier based distributed network architecture. The XOP Networks’ Firebar application resides on the USN that is deployed on the trunk side of the switch/PBX. It provides several enhancements.
- Can be used with legacy TDM network or with the next generation VoIP network
- Send calls to any landline or cellular phone instead of just dedicated ‘red’ or emergency phones
- Select communications medium to be used for message delivery (Voice only, Email only, SMS only or any combination etc.)
- Support unlimited number of call out groups
- Send caller-ID of your choice that can be used by recipient’s phone to display associated ’caller name’ (e.g., Fire Chief)
- Trigger a dial-out based on a) incoming phone call, b) click on a web portal, c) dry contact closure (optional)
- Schedule one time or recurring dialout calls
- Multiple hysteresis controls for preventing un-intentional triggers
- Configurable auto dial back (mitigates inadvertent call drops due to network congestion)
- Configurable authentication features (prevents unauthorized person to get involved in a Firebar conference)
- Answering machine detection and avoidance
- Display real time call activity on a Web Portal
- Multiple configurable recording options, playback via IVR or media player on a PC
- Display loudest speaker
- Provide summary and detailed reports on call completions (Busy, No Answer, Answering machine etc.)
| Feature | How it works | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Blast Dialing. | Set-up via Web Dashboard, triggered via dial-in or Web. | Multiple responders are called in parallel – reduces the overall time required to contact. |
| Multiple Protocol Support | Any combination of Analog, VoIP/SIP, and TDM (T1/E1) | Wherever your responders are, we can reach them. |
| Unlimited number of call out groups. | Set-up via Web Dashboard. | Pre-planned group members may belong to different organizations (Volunteer Fire dept., Police, EMS etc.). |
| Built-in Find-me capability. | Set up upto 4 phone numbers per individual, plus their email, SMS address. | Improves the probability of reaching an individual first responder. |
| On-the-fly recording before triggering dialout. | Moderator can dial in and record an emergency specific message before initiating the dialout. The message is heard by the recipients before they elect to join the follow-on audio conference. | Responders can decide whether or not to join a emergency conference just by listening to the initial message. |
| Call Recording and logs. | All emergency conference calls can be recorded. All call event logs are captured into .CSV files. | Easy access to recordings and call logs simplifies post-event analysis. |
| Unobtrusive Monitoring of the conference | Set up a Moderator account with Monitoring privilege. | Useful for monitoring/ diagnosing any audio quality issues with a conference. |
| Multiple in-conference controls. | Moderator can use DTMF controls, e.g., mute /unmute, lock/unlock, dialout and add, etc. during the conference. | Improves overall management of the conference call. |